The British Nutrition Foundation is a British

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

. The British Nutrition Foundation's vision is that 'Everyone can access healthy, sustainable diets' and the charity contributes to this through its mission of ‘Translating evidence-based nutrition science in engaging and actionable ways’.

Operations

The BNF's team of nutrition scientists conduct academic reviews of published research on issues of diet and public health. They present their reports in the BNF's Nutrition Bulletin, as well as various Task Force reports, intended for both academic and lay dissemination. The BNF also organises educational programs designed to provide accessible information on diet and health for children and young people, aged 3–16+ years. The BNF's education website, foodafactoflife.org.uk, provides teaching and learning resources about food and nutrition.

Criticism

Concerns have been raised about the BNF's relationship with the food industry. The BNF receives funding from some food manufacturers and distributors in the UK. The ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

'' published an article in 2010 criticizing the way in which the BNF has been treated as a source of impartial nutritional information by the media, usually without describing the industry ties. It also criticized the UK government for paying the BNF to develop educational materials on nutrition, and quoted Tim Lobstein, a director at the

International Association for the Study of Obesity-International Obesity Task Force International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, saying that some BNF educational materials seem to support industry messages. A 1985 World in Action documentary interviewed Derek Shrimpton, a previous director general at BNF, who said: "In the period I was there the foundation was solely taken up with defence actions for the industry." He also said that BNF worked to frustrate government committees working on policies to reduce sugar, salt, and fat consumption.

References

External links

*
Food - a fact of life

Nutrition Bulletin journal homepage

British Nutrition Foundation
at Spinprofiles.org

Video clips

British Nutrition Foundation YouTube channel
{{authority control Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Food policy in the United Kingdom Food science institutes Health charities in the United Kingdom Health education in the United Kingdom Health education organizations Nutrition organizations Organizations established in 1967